December 1, 2016

The Honourable Joon Oh Ambassador-at-Large Republic of Korea named ICAS Fellow

Dear Friend: We are pleased to share with you that The Honourable Joon Oh has been named ICAS Fellow, effective immediately. Joon Oh is an Ambassador-at-large of the Republic of Korea (ROK). He was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York from 2013 to 2016. During this time, Ambassador Oh also served as the 71st President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as President of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2015 and 2016. He is currently a member of the High Level Panel on the Future of Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Joon was Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Singapore from 2010-13 and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul from 2008-10. From 2005 to 2007, he was Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Korea to the United Nations in New York, during which time Joon chaired the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) for the 2006 session. From 2003 to 2005, he was Director-General for International Organizations at the Korean Foreign Ministry. Joon also chaired the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) from 2004 to 2005. Joon joined the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 and has served as Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister (2007-08); Minister, ROK Embassy in Brazil (2002-03); Deputy Director-General for Policy Planning (1999-2001); Counselor, ROK Embassy in Malaysia (1997-99); and Director, United Nations Division (1995-97). The ROK Government awarded him an Order of Service Merit twice, first the Order of Green Stripes in 1996 and the Order of Yellow Stripes in 2006. In 2014, he received the Youngsan Diplomat Award for his work on North Korean human rights issues. Rehabilitation International awarded him the Global Presidential Award in 2016 in acknowledgment for his achievements as President of CRPD. Ambassador Oh received a Master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University (1991-92); a diploma in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1982-83); and a Bachelor’s in French literature from Seoul National University (1974-78). He was a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (1990-91) and a member of the Korea Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF) (2010-13). In 2015, Joon published his first book in Korean For Mica, Who Contemplates Life. He is married to Miri Kim with two children. Ambassador Oh spoke before the ICAS audience at the ICAS 2015 Fall Symposium slated in partnership with The Heritage Foundation. Thank you.